Mat 2, Mat 18 | ESV | STEP | Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king , behold , wise men from the east came to Jerusalem ,

1 Now ^aafter Jesus was born in ^bBethlehem of Judea ^cin the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men ^{▼▼Greek magi; also verses 7, 16} from ^ethe east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born ^fking of the Jews? For we saw ^ghis star when it rose ^{▼▼Or in the east; also verse 9} and have come to ⁱworship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where ^jthe Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

6 ^k“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will ^lshepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, ^mthey offered him gifts, ⁿgold and ^ofrankincense and ^pmyrrh. 12 And ^qbeing warned ^rin a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

The Flight to Egypt

13 Now when they had departed, behold, ^san angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. ^tThis was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ^u“Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Herod Kills the Children

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 ^vThen was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

18 ^w“A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they ^xare no more.”

The Return to Nazareth

19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for ^ythose who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and ^zbeing warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called ^aaNazareth, ^abso that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Matthew 18

Who Is the Greatest?

1 ^acAt that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you ^adturn and ^aebecome like children, you ^afwill never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 ^agWhoever humbles himself like this child is the ^ahgreatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5 ^ai“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but ^ajwhoever causes one of these ^aklittle ones who believe in me to sin, ^{▼▼Greek causes . . . to stumble; also verses 8, 9} it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Temptations to Sin

7 “Woe to the world for ^amtemptations to sin! ^{▼▼Greek stumbling blocks} ^aoFor it is necessary that temptations come, ^apbut woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 ^aqAnd if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into ^arthe eternal fire. 9 ^asAnd if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the ^athell ^{▼▼Greek Gehenna} of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 “See that you do not despise ^avone of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven ^awtheir angels always ^axsee the face of my Father who is in heaven. ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add verse 11: For the Son of Man came to save the lost} 12 ^azWhat do you think? ^baIf a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So ^bbit is not the will of my ^{▼▼Some manuscripts your} Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

15 ^bd“If your brother sins against you, ^bego and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have ^bfgained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established ^bgby the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, ^bhtell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^bilet him be to you as ^bja Gentile and ^bka tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, ^blwhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed ^{▼▼Or shall have been bound . . . shall have been loosed} in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you ^bnagree on earth about anything they ask, ^boit will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are ^bpgathered in my name, ^bqthere am I among them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often ^brwill my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^bsAs many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished ^btto settle accounts with his servants. ^{▼▼Greek bondservants; also verses 28, 31} 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ^bvten thousand ^bwtalents. ^{▼▼A talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years’ wages for a laborer} 25 ^byAnd since he could not pay, his master ordered him ^bzto be sold, with his wife and ^cachildren and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant ^{▼▼Greek bondservant; also verses 27, 28, 29, 32, 33} ^ccfell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and ^cdforgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred ^cedenarii, ^{▼▼A denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer} and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 ^cgAnd should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 ^chAnd in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, ^{▼▼Greek torturers} ^cjuntil he should pay all his debt. 35 ^ckSo also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother ^clfrom your heart.”